VSA

VSA is a student run organistation, bringing medical aid to the developing world. ​Since its foundation in 1977 by Dr. Dom Colbert, more than 400 NUIG medical students have been sent overseas as healthcare volunteers, taking with them funds to develop and support healthcare delivery in the areas they are working. These places have included areas of Zambia, Malawi, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Peru, Ecuador, Belize, Vietnam and India.Throughout the year, events and as many fundraising activities as the calendar will allow, take place. Some events are now iconic indications of what time of the year it is. For example, the cryptically named Halloween Ball or the equally subtle VSA Christmas Concert are more accurate than an iPhone for telling you the time.Every summer, after looking their exams dead in the eye, groups of students set off to their chosen destinations where they will spend 4-6 weeks. This time is spent volunteering their own skills, improving the facilities of our partner clinics/hospitals and gaining valuable, often inspiring experience working in challenging environments.Each volunteer pays for their own travel and accommodation expenses, in addition to reaching their own personal fundraising target. This means every euro, cent, and whatever else we find in our buckets, goes directly to the clinics, hospitals and communities in question. 100%.